WASHINGTON – A federal appeals panel upheld Friday the Transportation Department’s approval for Norwegian Air International to serve the U.S.
Four unions representing 135,000 aviation workers had challenged the decision by arguing that Norwegian was avoiding labor laws through its unusual corporate structure.
But a three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that neither federal law nor international agreement allowed the department to reject an airline application, if the carrier satisfied the requirements. The department decided it did, in December 2016 after three years of internal debate.
The concern among U.S. airline unions was that Norwegian, a low-cost carrier, represented unfair competition because it could hire crews for lower wages. But the airline insisted the criticism was unfair because it was buying Boeing jets and hiring U.S. workers.
The unions challenging Norwegian’s permit were the Air Line Pilots Association, the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the Allied Pilots Association and the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/trave...nts/603613002/